Kim Chaek

Kim Chaek (14 August 1903-31 January 1951) was a North Korean general and politician during the Korean War. Kim, one of Kim Il-sung's original lieutenants, was executed after the Battle of Inchon.

Biography
Kim Chaek was born in Songjin, Korea on 14 August 1903, and he joined the guerrilla war against Japanese occupation in 1927 and fought alongside Kim Il-sung in Manchuria. In 1940, when Japan put down the partisan uprising, Kim defected to the Soviet Union, and he returned to Korea alongside the Red Army as a leader of Kim's 88th Special Brigade. Kim became a Vice Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea, and he became Deputy Prime Minister when North Korea became independent in 1948. During the Korean War, Kim commanded the frontline troops, and he was executed by gassing in January 1951 after being purged from the Korean People's Army for his failure at the Battle of Inchon. The government claimed that he had instead suffered a heart attack.